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IBRD and IDA: Working for a World Free of Poverty.enCan we accelerate energy efficiency by using less fuel?https://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/can-we-accelerate-energy-efficiency-using-less-fuel
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Many of us drive cars on a regular basis, particularly in developed countries, but perhaps rarely think about how we could reduce the impact of our driving on the environment. &nbsp;In other words, what are some of the policies and specific actions that could facilitate greater improvements in energy efficiency in the vehicles sector?<br />
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Questions like these were at the center of discussions at the <a href="http://www.globalfueleconomy.org/updates/2014/Pages/GFEIFuelEconomyAcceleratorSymposium.aspx" rel="nofollow">Fuel Economy Accelerator Symposium</a> held in Paris last week. The event, organized by the <a href="http://www.globalfueleconomy.org/Pages/Homepage.aspx" rel="nofollow">Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI)</a>, was hosted by the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. &nbsp;I represented the World Bank at this event, which took place on the heels of the <a href="http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/" rel="nofollow">UN Secretary General’s upcoming Climate Conference in New York</a>, scheduled for late September. As a result, the topic of the fuel economy and energy efficiency is especially timely and relevant.<br />
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Doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030 is one of the three major objectives of <a href="http://www.se4all.org/" rel="nofollow">Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL)</a>, an initiative led by the UN Secretary-General and the President of the World Bank Group. The other two goals by 2030 are to provide universal access to electricity and modern cooking solutions, and to double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.&nbsp;<br />
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The Global Fuel Economy Initiative is one of five energy efficiency projects within the Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, which was established to help drive action and commitments by leaders at the national and sectorial levels. The Accelerator Platform will provide governments with policy options and technical support that leverages best-in-class toolkits, databases and subject-matter experts. And Sustainable Energy for All will promote, through its network of public and private financial institutions and donors, funding to support policy development and project implementation.<br />
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The GFEI event in Paris made it clear that the impact of massive increases in vehicle numbers and energy demand around the world is not sustainable. Specifically, it is unsustainable in terms of CO2 emissions and overall health impact on the world’s populations; unsustainable in terms of energy supply costs as resources become increasingly scarce; and unsustainable in terms of its impact on overall climate change.<br />
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To get a concrete picture of the situation, consider this fact: the global fleet of light vehicles (cars and vans) is due to triple by 2050, with more than 80 percent of new vehicles in emerging economies and less developed countries.<br />
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The good news is that the fuel economy in vehicles could be improved right away. It could be doubled in new vehicles by 2030 and in all vehicles by 2050 – using cost-effective fuel economy technologies such as stop-start and smaller, more efficient engines, which are already in many cars today.<br />
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This represents a transformative change in the cars we are driving today, and could mean savings of $2 trillion in un-used fuel by 2030 alone. These are resources that are desperately needed elsewhere; for schools and hospitals, or to support new technologies such as electric vehicles.&nbsp; Furthermore, billions of barrels of oil could be saved as a result of increased efficiency, along with up to 1 gigatonne of CO2 per year from 2030, and up to 2 gigatonnes from 2050.<br />
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The Global Fuel Economy Initiative -- a partnership of various organizations including the <a href="http://www.iea.org/" rel="nofollow">International Energy Agency</a>, the <a href="http://www.unep.org/" rel="nofollow">United Nations Environment Programme</a>, the <a href="http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/" rel="nofollow">International Transport Forum (ITF)</a>, the <a href="http://www.fiafoundation.org/Pages/homepage.aspx" rel="nofollow">FIA Foundation</a> and others -- is working to secure the maximum deployment of existing fuel economy technologies in vehicles across the world. These are important efforts that need to be scaled up through more in-country policy support, research and advocacy.<br />
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is challenging heads of state and government along with business, civil society and local leaders attending the Climate Summit in New York to be bold, innovate and scale up action to close the emissions gap.&nbsp; Working on accelerating energy efficiency by using less fuel is no doubt an important focus area to achieve cleaner transport around the world.<br />
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Today, the push to curtail emissions from the transport sector is actually a three-legged stool.&nbsp; More energy efficient combustion engines are one leg, while development of electric vehicles is another. But the third and most critical leg to ensure a long-term sustainable decrease in emissions is a <a href="http://www.fiafoundation.org/Pages/homepage.aspx" rel="nofollow">systemic modal shift away from individual car use toward more collective modes of transport</a>, including non-motorized modes wherever possible.<br />
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The Global Fuel Economy Initiative has emphasized change in engine technologies for reducing fuel demand and emissions in transport. This is particularly important for countries with a mature infrastructure system that is geared towards individual motorized transport. &nbsp;It is still unclear, however, whether regulatory policies are the least-cost policies to reduce fossil fuel dependency and emissions.<br />
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On the other hand, countries whose infrastructure is yet to develop might be able to reduce fossil fuel dependency in a less-costly way by aiming for different modal patterns of mobility than in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, as well as by emphasizing low-emission modes of transport and avoiding the lock-in that more advanced economies have to live with.<br />
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It is clear that different policy approaches may be appropriate for countries at different levels of their transport infrastructure development.&nbsp;<br />
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In the meantime, what are your thoughts about the role car-sharing and electric bikes could play in both developed and developing economies?<br />
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Keep moving!</div>
Thu, 11 Sep 2014 10:38:00 -0400Marc JuhelTransport networks: Where there is a Will, There is a Wayhttps://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/transport-networks-where-there-will-there-way
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<img alt="" src="https://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/files/transport/port-bert-kruk.jpg" style="float:right; height:199px; margin-left:5px; margin-right:5px; width:300px" />The transport sector contributes between 5 and 10% of gross domestic product in most countries, so the question of how to integrate transport networks for sustainable and inclusive growth is a crucial one.<br />
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And that is precisely one of the main topics that we discussed at the International Transport Forum in Leipzig during a session on Integrating Transport Networks for Sustainable Growth and Development. The panel also included Morocco’s Vice-Minister of Transport; the Head of Transport from the <a href="http://www.caf.com/en" rel="nofollow">Latin America Development Bank (CAF)</a>, and the CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Bahn AG.<br />
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The first unexpected development happened when the moderator showed up with a fifteen-minute delay, having been trapped… in a Deutsche Bahn train stopped on the tracks between Berlin and Leipzig following an unfortunate encounter between a bulldozer and a catenary cable.&nbsp;To be fair, the incident had little to do with the quality of the railway service and was quickly resolved. That is what resilient transport is about. <!--break--><br />
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In our discussion, we focused on the challenges in establishing an effective institutional framework for local and regional coordination of transport services, and the steps governments can take in better coordinating transport planning and infrastructure investment to ensure a coherent and integrated approach.<br />
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Let me share with you a few highlights of this relevant and timely conversation, given that emerging economies like Morocco are now planning huge investments in infrastructure and transport-related projects. The challenges that these countries and others face are not new, but they are quite complex. &nbsp;<br />
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The complexity lies on the fact that transport is not just about building new roads and flyovers or about adding more buses or metro systems. It is much more than that. A variety of issues related to affordability, disability, gender, livelihoods, political economy, human psychology, local culture, energy security, and air quality, amongst others, also need to be taken into account. And all this needs to be put in perspective with the fact that, as we were told in a morning session, if motorization continues unabated there will be as many cars in China in 2050 as there are today on the whole planet…<br />
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Therefore, good engineering is just one aspect of the whole picture. It is equally relevant to consider land use planning, finances, governance, economics, and a host of other issues. &nbsp;In brief, social scientists, economists and urban planners are as important to urban transport as are engineers. All of them need to come together to tackle the transport challenges of the 21<sup>st</sup> century. There is a need for comprehensive, multi-disciplinary planning and decision making to ensure transport delivers sustainable growth.<br />
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And this multi-disciplinary work, although more established in developed economies, is a huge challenge in developing countries where multiple agencies, at different levels of government, are involved in the management and delivery of transport infrastructure and services.<br />
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More often than not, however, there is little or no coordination among them. This results in inefficient use of resources and poor-quality services.&nbsp;Thus the need for institutional coordination across space and function is increasingly being recognized as critical to developing an integrated and comprehensive transport system.<br />
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But the ability to undertake comprehensive planning and execution that is integrated func­tionally, spatially, sectorally, and hierarchically is too often constrained because of the <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/01/18821689/institutional-labyrinth-designing-way-out-improving-urban-transport-services-lessons-current-practice" rel="nofollow">highly fragmented governance of urban transport in most cities</a>.<br />
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Similarly, on a national scale, people and freight mobility demands need to be assessed in order to achieve economic and social inclusion. Indeed, inclusive growth will only come with inclusive transport. And when resources are limited, the optimization in resource allocation requires a high degree of coordination between the different levels of government involved in planning and financing the infrastructure, and regulating transport services.<br />
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All this effective allocation of resources and coordination across levels of government becomes even more important when designing transport corridors that ultimately bring about more regional integration essential for the growth prospects of middle and low-income countries, <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/01/14036333/connecting-landlocked-developing-countries-markets-trade-corridors-21st-century" rel="nofollow">particularly those that are landlocked</a>.<br />
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Furthermore, transport corridors help to prioritize the development of missing infrastructure links, especially in developing regions. Regulatory and other constraints to trade facilitation also are relevant at the corridor level, enabling the design of appropriate transport interventions. Lastly, corridors provide a spatial framework to promote collaboration between countries as well as public and private sector agencies involved in providing trade infrastructure and services.<br />
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In terms of regional integration, regional corridors also provide an opportunity to bring together both public and private stakeholders from neighboring countries, and offer a venue to address <a href="http://www.ssatp.org/en/page/legal-instruments-facilitation-transport-and-trade" rel="nofollow">harmonization of transport regulatory frameworks and standards</a>, as well as broader issues of intra-regional trade and international transit.&nbsp; A good example is the <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2010/08/18/removing-transport-bottlenecks-on-east-africa-s-northern-corridor" rel="nofollow">Northern Corridor in East Africa</a>, linking Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.&nbsp;<br />
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A regional treaty, signed in 1985, created the <a href="http://www.ttcanc.org/" rel="nofollow">Northern Corridor Transit Coordination Authority</a>, with a permanent secretariat monitoring infrastructure and related activities. A Stakeholders Forum gives voice to its private users. The corridor is multimodal and the treaty covers ports, roads, railways, inland waterways and pipelines. Among its achievements is a single axle load limit across member countries, and a single transit document that facilitates border crossings throughout the corridor. The Northern Corridor illustrates how public intervention can initiate effective transport network integration.<br />
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The private sector also can lead important efforts. On the Western side of the continent, for example, the <a href="http://www.wbcg.com.na/" rel="nofollow">Walvis Bay Corridor Group</a> was the result of a private sector initiative that ultimately led to a regional agreement between Namibia, Botswana and South Africa for the development of regional transport networks, comprising the Port of Walvis Bay, the Trans-Kalahari Corridor, the Trans-Caprivi Corridor, the Trans-Cunene Corridor, and the Trans-Oranje Corridor.&nbsp;<br />
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These two examples show that whether an initiative is public or private, or a mix of both, a holistic approach is fundamental in ensuring that transport contributes to development. Leadership and political will are also crucial ingredients in integrating transport networks for sustainable growth. &nbsp;<br />
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Like we often say -and we stressed it in Leipzig- where there is a will, there is a way.<br />
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Keep moving!</div>
Thu, 22 May 2014 08:00:00 -0400Marc JuhelLogistics: a Critical Nexus Point for Inclusive Growthhttps://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/logistics-critical-nexus-point-inclusive-growth
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<img alt="" src="https://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/files/transport/Port-of-Tema.jpg" style="float:right; height:199px; margin-left:5px; margin-right:5px; width:300px" />As I get ready to head back to Washington DC after a visit to The Netherlands, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to share with you some thoughts on sustainable logistics.<br />
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While some of you might be familiar with the term, transport logistics refers to the services, knowledge and infrastructure that allow for the free movement of goods and people.&nbsp;<br />
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In today’s globalized economies, logistics is recognized as a key driver of competitiveness and economic development. And as policy making turns its attention to promoting sustainable growth paths, valuing scarce resources, and minimizing environmental impacts, sustainable logistics is indeed a key nexus point.<br />
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Efficient logistics systems are a precondition for regions, countries, cities and businesses to participate in the global economy, boost growth, and improve the living conditions of millions of people.<br />
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That’s why this topic is so important for the World Bank’s mission and our client countries in the transport sector. And that’s why this week in The Hague we organized, together with the government of The Netherlands and partners like <a href="http://www.dinalog.nl/en/home/" rel="nofollow">Dinalog</a>, the Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics, our first <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;frm=1&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;ved=0CCUQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dinalog.nl%2Fen%2Fcalendar%2Fbeurzen_en_congressen%2Fmulti_donor_trust_fund___sustainable_logistics%2F%3Fview%3Dpdf%26print%3D1&amp;ei=4D31Uo3WKOe50AH744GICQ&amp;usg=AFQjCNGFACm9VtaMyblqISZiGD9fOsm9yw&amp;sig2=tCxs-5vZ1g6SUjKJyG-0bw" rel="nofollow">Conference on Sustainable Logistics</a>.</div>
<!--break-->The rationale behind this joint effort is to bridge the gap between trade facilitation and sustainable logistics in order to stimulate more trade and alleviate poverty particularly in the developing world.<br />
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The story started three years ago when Willem Heeren and Wim Bens, who both worked for Dinalog at the time, contacted the World Bank to explore closer cooperation on sustainable logistics. After a series of interactions and consultations, and now with the support of the Dutch government, we recently launched a <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/sustainabledevelopment/brief/sustainable-logistics-trust-fund" rel="nofollow">Multi-donor Trust Fund for Sustainable Logistics</a>.&nbsp;<br />
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The Trust Fund has three main objectives:
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First, to enable developing countries to address climate-related and local environmental impacts caused by the transport of goods, and enhance the competitiveness of their exports through less carbon-intensive value chains—this is the <em>Green Logistics</em> stream.</li>
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Second, to help developing countries address urban congestion from the retail distribution of goods, and improve the sustainable design and operations of port-cities—this is the <em>Urban Freight and Port Cities </em>stream.</li>
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And third, to assist developing countries to strengthen food security and improve the competitiveness of agricultural exports through sustainable reduction in logistics costs as well as food losses—this is the <em>Agrologistics</em> stream.</li>
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To get a sense of the challenges, just consider the fact that the costs of transport in developing countries represent between 25-30% of the total costs of their products. In western countries, for comparison, costs of transport represent on average about 9% of total costs.&nbsp; There is, of course, much work to be done on this front. &nbsp;&nbsp;And on the food security front alone, let’s just remember that crops and food losses on their way to market often reach staggering levels, sometimes 40% or more—a huge potential waiting to be recovered through better logistics chains.<br />
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<strong>Power of partnerships</strong><br />
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But we cannot do it alone. We need help and engagement from other partners. And here is when the role and support of innovative partnerships, like the one on sustainable logistics, is most welcome and appreciated.<br />
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This is not the first time that The Netherlands and the World Bank are working together. Over the years we have shared similar interests: from road safety and water management to women's rights and climate change.<br />
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The Netherlands, for instance, has a lot of experience on water-related challenges, as well as on sustainable logistics. Transport and logistics are at the heart of the Dutch economy. Logistics contributes about 50 billion dollars to The Netherlands’ GDP.<br />
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The Dutch logistics sector is also considered one of the most efficient and innovative, so the idea is to tap on all this knowledge and best practice to help our client countries become more resilient and competitive.<br />
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In the same vein, developing countries are more conscious that seaports and airports are much more than places to load and unload goods: they can become global transport hubs connecting them with other booming regions or cities across the world.<br />
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These are just a few reasons why countries need to invest much more in sustainable logistics in the next years. After all, countries depend on other countries’ development to achieve shared prosperity and inclusive growth.<br />
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It is therefore crucial to make sustainable logistics practices accessible to the developing world. And we will achieve this by bringing together private sector technologies and know how, effective governmental policies and regulations, convening power, and innovation.&nbsp;<br />
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The conference in The Hague and the new World Bank Multi-donor Trust Fund on Sustainable Logistics are proof that, with the right mix of ideas, creativity, funding and initiative from multiple partners, we can achieve much for the benefit of our client countries.<br />
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Keep moving!<br />
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<strong>Read more</strong>:
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<a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/sustainabledevelopment/brief/sustainable-logistics-trust-fund" rel="nofollow">Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Sustainable Logistics</a></li>
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<a href="http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/toespraken/2014/02/05/speech-by-the-minister-of-infrastructure-and-the-environment-melanie-schultz-van-haegen-at-the-conference-on-sustainable-logistics.html" rel="nofollow">Speech by the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Melanie Schultz van Haegen, at the Conference on Sustainable Logistics</a></li>
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<a href="http://www.worldbank.org/transport/" rel="nofollow">World Bank Transport website</a></li>
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<a href="http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/TRADE/0,,noSURL:Y~contentMDK:21685233~menuPK:167358~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:239071,00.html" rel="nofollow">World Bank Trade website</a></li>
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<a href="http://www.dinalog.nl/en/home/" rel="nofollow">Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics (Dinalog)</a></li>
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<a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/01/07/efficient-logistics-a-key-to-vietnams-competitiveness" rel="nofollow">New World Bank Report -- Efficient Logistics: A Key to Vietnam’s Competitiveness</a></li>
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<sup>Photo credit: Jonathan Ernst / The World Bank</sup>Fri, 07 Feb 2014 16:51:00 -0500Marc JuhelThe Way We Move Will Define our Futurehttps://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/way-we-move-will-define-our-future
<img alt="" src="https://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/files/transport/Bus%20Dakar_Public%20Transport%20-%20small_0.jpg" style="float:left; height:260px; margin-left:5px; margin-right:5px; width:260px" />Mobility is a precondition for economic growth: mobility for access to jobs, education, health, and other services. Mobility of goods is also critical to supply world markets in our globalized economy. We could say that transport drives development.<br />
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But transport also contributes about 20 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions. These emissions have increased by 1.7 percent annually since 2000.&nbsp; And sixty percent of that increase is in non-OECD countries where economic growth has been accompanied by a surge in demand for motor vehicles.<br />
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The more the world urbanizes – and we’re forecast to be 70 percent urban-dwellers by 2050 – the more critical clean, efficient, safe transportation becomes.<br />
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This is a major challenge that countries face, but the good news is that the transition toward low-carbon transportation is affordable if countries combine policies to reduce GHG emissions with broader sector reforms aimed at maximizing local co-benefits.&nbsp; (i.e. less congestion, less local pollution, better road safety, etc.)<br />
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And this, of course, also holds true for Africa.&nbsp; Along with other colleagues and more than 200 participants from within the continent, we co-hosted with the Government of Senegal the <a href="http://www.ssatp.org/en/page/ssatp-2013-annual-meeting" rel="nofollow">Africa Transport Policy Forum</a> in Dakar.&nbsp; At this major annual event, we precisely discussed the challenges and opportunities that countries face for achieving more efficient and sustainable transportation.<br />
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As African economies continue to grow and expand, the transport sector becomes even more critical for promoting a people-centered, sustainable development agenda. Planning for affordable, safer and cleaner transport systems is a smart and cost-effective way to address people’s mobility needs and the impact of rapid urbanization across Africa.<br />
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Current transport trends in many countries are still too focused on individual car use rather than on mass transit. And in much of Africa, rural areas continue to be isolated from access to markets and essential services.<br />
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Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector are growing faster than from any other sector. Although Africa is not yet a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions compared to other regions of the world, its high urbanization rate, quantity of imported cars per year, and low standards for acceptable vehicle emissions, are contributing to a growing emissions trend.<br />
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As outlined in a recent World Bank report, <em><a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTRANSPORT/Resources/336291-1351012453763/Turning-the-Right-Corner-final-version-Jun2013.pdf" rel="nofollow">Turning the Right Corner</a></em>, transport infrastructure investment today will define energy use and emissions over the next five to seven decades.&nbsp; Thus, the failure to gear today’s investments to real prices of energy and emissions in the long-term will irreversibly lead to higher transport costs.<br />
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In other words, the way we move will define our future sustainability.<br />
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In this context, the developing world’s fast-growing cities have an opportunity right now – and an urgent need– to build such low-carbon transport systems before unsustainable land-use patterns become locked in.<br />
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Transport also needs a broader sector reform that recognizes the synergies between mitigating transport’s contributions to climate change and other externalities.<br />
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Congestion, for example, costs billions of dollars in lost time and productivity, and road traffic crashes cause nearly 1.3 million deaths each year around the world.<br />
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Despite having only 2% of the global number of vehicles, Africa is the continent with the highest road fatality rates in the world. The estimated annual number of deaths in Africa is around 200,000, a figure that represents 16% of the global deaths.<br />
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Focusing on these local co-benefits can help motivate local decision-makers – and go hand-in-hand with progress toward achieving global climate change goals.<br />
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Revenues from fiscal incentives can also help the sector and the economy. For example, transport suffers from an endemic shortage of funding for infrastructure maintenance, and some of these revenues should be earmarked to end systematic underfunding.&nbsp; The negative externalities of transport also provide room to increase taxes on its emissions, and decrease taxes on income and productive investments.<br />
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Low-emissions transport could then provide a double dividend by boosting people’s prosperity and income, as well as reducing poverty.<br />
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The good news is that it is possible to implement low-carbon transport policies. We see good examples across the world. Mexico City drastically reduced its pollution with tighter fuel regulations and a Metro bus system; today, over 20 million of its residents’ 32 million trips a day are on public transit.<br />
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Guangzhou’s greenway, bus rapid-transport system, and some 5,000 bike-share bikes are expected to cut 86,000 tons of CO2 per year over their first 10 years.<br />
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In Africa, the Bus Rapid Transit systems in Lagos, Cape Town and Johannesburg are interesting models as they provide quality service and affordability to millions of urban dwellers.<br />
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Although crucial in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, transport was somewhat forgotten or ignored when the MDGs were designed.&nbsp; This time, however, the sector should be more explicitly recognized as a critical component of any sustainable and inclusive development strategy going forward, particularly as the international community tries to define a new set of sustainable development goals or SDGs in a post 2015 development agenda.<br />
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African countries at this policy forum are conscious that they cannot miss the opportunity to choose a more sustainable transport path.&nbsp; This is essential for reducing poverty and boosting prosperity in a sustainable way. We need to support these efforts. The time to tackle the transport challenge is now.<br />
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Keep moving!<br />
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<strong>Read more:</strong><br />
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<a href="http://go.worldbank.org/571XYJLY70" rel="nofollow">Low-carbon Transport at the World Bank</a></li>
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Flagship report: <em><a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTRANSPORT/Resources/336291-1351012453763/Turning-the-Right-Corner-final-version-Jun2013.pdf" rel="nofollow">Turning the Right Corner: Ensuring Development through a Low-Carbon Transport Sector</a></em></li>
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Press release: <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2013/12/10/sustainable-safe-and-efficient-transport-for-the-people-of-africa" rel="nofollow">Sustainable, Safe and Efficient Transport for the people of Africa</a></li>
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Feature story: <a href="http://go.worldbank.org/ZBSM4JNHE0" rel="nofollow">Warsaw Meeting Calls for Swift Action towards Low-carbon Transport, Trillions in Savings</a></li>
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Blog: <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/one-investment-can-make-unhealthy-cities-livable-and-fight-climate-change" rel="nofollow">One Investment that Can Make Unhealthy Cities Livable and Fight Climate Change: Sustainable Transportation</a> (by Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development)</li>
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<a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/07/10098434/safe-clean-affordabletransport-development-world-bank-groups-transport-business-strategy-2008-2012" rel="nofollow">Safe, clean, and affordable...transport for development: the World Bank Group's transport business strategy</a></li>
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<a href="http://www.ssatp.org/en/page/ssatp-2013-annual-meeting" rel="nofollow">SSATP Africa Transport Policy Forum</a> (Dakar, Senegal, 10-11 December 2013)</li>
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<em><sup>Photo credit: Beatrice Spadacini</sup></em>Fri, 13 Dec 2013 17:54:00 -0500Marc JuhelMeet me at the back of the bushttps://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/meet-me-at-the-back-of-the-bus
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><EM>If you miss me at the back of the bus, and you can't find me nowhere</EM><BR><EM>Come on up to the front of the bus, I'll be ridin' right there</EM><BR><EM>I'll be ridin' right there</EM><BR><EM>I'll be ridin' right there</EM><BR><EM>Come on up to the front of the bus I'll be ridin' right there </EM></SPAN></P>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">These lyrics from the Civil Rights movement back in the 60s’ spring to mind as we debate the role and importance of public transport in moving toward livable, green cities.&nbsp;When they were written, and then recorded by Pete Seeger who popularized the tune, public transport was to a large extent a mirror of the prevailing social hierarchy—white in the front, colored in the back.&nbsp;Of course, times have changed, or so we like to believe.&nbsp;But how far ?</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">I am just back from the Center for Mediterranean Integration in Marseilles, France, where the Bank, together with the French Agency for Development (AFD), delivered the first French edition of the Leaders in Urban Transport Capacity Building program.&nbsp;This comprehensive program, blending self-learning with face-to-face training and individual mentoring, has first been offered to an English speaking audience in Singapore in January 2012.&nbsp;The very positive feedback it generated led us to consider developing French and Spanish versions to expand its outreach across Bank’s client countries.</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Thirteen countries were represented in Marseilles, where thirty public executives and elected decision-makers gathered to go through this one-week long program.&nbsp;While we went through a series of case studies discussions and exchanges of experience, some evidence accumulated underscoring a few critical aspects of problem-solving strategies when it comes to urban transport.</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><IMG style="WIDTH: 408px; HEIGHT: 244px" alt="" src="http://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/files/transport/images/transmilenio.jpeg"></SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">First, as tempting as it may be, throwing more capacity at congestion does little in itself to alleviate the problem—if it does not make it worse by inducing more traffic.&nbsp;New ring roads make for nice pictures—and rewarding inaugurations—but are unlikely to dent rush hours back-ups.&nbsp;Even costly mass transit systems, as effective as they might be, will most often only be a drop in the bucket when compared to the magnitude of daily trips a metropolitan city generates.&nbsp;</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Second, even when public transit is available, there is no guarantee it will be used to its maximum extent: modal choice for individual mobility is and will remain an individual decision.&nbsp;Twenty years ago urban transport projects in the developing world were mostly designed to provide access—to jobs, markets, social services—for people who had none, living on the fringes of big cities and often severed from the economic and social fabric of the community. This remains a relevant objective, but today we got another: provide an alternate mobility option for those well-off enough to afford a personal car. And obviously, levels of service expectations will vary greatly between those two broad target groups.&nbsp;Whereas the poor will probably welcome a public transport option coming to them provided it is affordable, happy car owners will think twice before opting for a public transport option that may not be as comfortable and convenient as their beloved vehicle—even when stuck in traffic.&nbsp;So policymakers will have to help them make the right choice.&nbsp;And since the lofty goal of saving the planet from asphyxia, while drawing universal applause, may still fall somewhat short of triggering the spontaneous adhesion of millions of commuters to the hidden charms of public transport, different kinds of incentives, more wallet-oriented, are in order.&nbsp;In politically correct economic wisdom, this is called demand management.&nbsp;In other words, play nice or pay more.</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Third, and finally, when our commuter, under the combined pressure of heroic idealism and household economics, bravely opts for public transport, chances are he will find….a bus.&nbsp;</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">And this is where we fall back on our social hierarchy metaphor.&nbsp;In short, still today in many countries rail-based transit is the mode fitting social achievement, the mobility mode consistent with aspirations towards a middle-class standard of living. Conversely, buses are for the unlucky ones still unable to set their sight on this golden horizon—buses are for the poor.&nbsp;Hence all the efforts deployed to brand bus rapid transit lines (BRTs) as metro-on-wheels, to escape the wheels-only stigma.&nbsp;But as said before, even BRTs will not provide the coverage and capacity needed to cure the problem.&nbsp;To achieve this, you will need to rationalize the regular bus systems.</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">So the bottom line is simple to write, if less so to act upon: to sustainably improve urban mobility based on a long-lasting modal shift, beyond building mass rapid transit systems, beyond developing bus rapid transit lines (BRTs), you also must reorganize and modernize the regular bus networks.&nbsp;Only then will the high-capacity lines really help, when the regular buses schedules and lines feed commuters onto the main trunk lines.&nbsp;Granted, it is far less rewarding than cutting a ribbon on a new metro station, far more difficult than choosing the color of the new BRT articulated buses, which is why it is regularly mentioned in cleverly crafted action plans that, apart from being unearthed to be updated every five years, mostly make the stuff of dreary seminars where serious experts agree this is absolutely the thing to do, before shelving them back and moving to more exciting endeavors.</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">So….<I>if you miss me at the back of the bus</I>, well, you’ll know where to find me.</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<p><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Keep moving !</SPAN></SPAN></p>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small">&nbsp;</SPAN></P>Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:17:59 -0400Marc Juhel